Christmas in July 2025 {BYSHC} Linky Party ~ Bunny & Guinea: Snowman ~ Rachelle Anne Miller Stamps

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back for Day 2 of the Christmas in July 2025 {BYSHC} Linky Party with another cute holiday card! It was so much fun checking out the inspiration shared yesterday for the start of the Linky Party. So many wonderful cards! Today I'm sharing a card using a sweet digital stamp from our sweet Sponsor Rachelle Anne Miller Stamps, AKA RAM Stamps.

I combined and resized the digital stamp and sentiment from the Bunny & Guinea: Snowman digital stamps. Isn't that just the cutest trio!? So adorable!! I printed off the digis on white card stock and colored them up with Copic markers.

Copic markers I used:

Bunny: W0, W1, W3, C0, C2, R00, R20

Snowman: C0, C2, YR20, YR15, YR16

Hat: C0, C2, YG11, G21

Scarf: YG11, G21, R20, R14

Guinea Pig: W0, W1, W3, C0, C2, E21, E25

I ink smooshed a wintry background using Uncharted Mariner and Villainous Potion Distress Inks. Once it was dry, I die cut it with the Swirls Pierce & Cut Plate from Sponsor Taylored Expressions.

The snowy hill was die cut using a die from the Stitched Hillside Borders from Sponsor Lawn Fawn. I trimmed the background to 5-1/4 x 4" and adhered it to a white A2 card base using iCraft UltraBond Adhesive from Sponsor Therm O Web. I popped up the sentiment and the fun trio using iCraft 3D Foam Tape Jumbo Roll (white) from Therm O Web.

 Woohoo!! I'm so excited to have another card done for my stash! If you haven't already, stop by the Christmas in July 2025 {BYSHC} Linky Party to check out all the wonderful Holiday inspiration being shared!! Have a fantastic day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

~ Friends of Unity December 2024 Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friend!

It's time for our Friends of Unity Blog Hop!! This month's cue is super fun! I hope you'll hop along with us and enjoy some wonderful inspiration from our friends! But today is not just a regular monthly blog hop... it's our 7th Anniversary of hopping!! How amazing is that?! 7 years has gone by in a flash!! The FOU has shared so many wonderful cards and projects over the last 7 years and we've added and sadly, said goodbye to some of our friends. I'm so very grateful to my friends that help make this hop amazing each month and I'm also very grateful to the friends that come and hop along with us each month. All your love and comments each month means so much to us. Thank you all so much! We appreciate each of you!

This month's cue is Winter Wonderland! 

For me winter wonderland means snowflakes. I love snowflake stamps! And one of my first snowflake stamps from Unity was the Magical {bliss and wonder} Layers of Life stamps. Still a favorite of mine!

I ink smooshed the Kraft card stock using Stormy Sky, Chipped Sapphire and Picket Fence Distress Inks. I dried the background completely with a Wagner Precision Heat Tool. And then I prepped the card stock for heat embossing with the TE Anti-Static Powder Tool. I stamped the snowflakes and sentiment using Picket Fence Distress Ink and then I sprinkled the wet ink with Alabaster White Embossing Powder. I melted the powder with the heat tool.  

I die cut the background and a piece of Kraft card stock using dies from the BIG Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies}. I adhered all my layers onto a white A2 top fold card base that I turned on the side for a landscape card. I finished off the card with some confetti from the White Glossy Card Bling from A Colorful Life Designs.

I love the magic and wonder of snow! It's so beautiful and I love to watch it when it just starts snowing. I tried to bring that magic and wonder through my second card. Not sure if I succeeded, but I definitely like how it turned out. To start I traced the inner circle of the Moon {layering stencil} on a piece of {Easy Peel} Masking Paper from Unity with a pencil. I cut out the circle mask, pulled off the backing and placed it on my white card front.

 Commence the inky fun... heehee... I ink smooshed the panel with Stormy Sky, Pine Needles, and Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks. I then blended some Tumbled Glass and Stormy Sky Distress Inks over the white areas of the panel. I distressed the edges of the panel with Black Soot Distress Ink and I ink smooshed just a little Picket Fence Distress Ink too to finish it off. It was a whole bunch of inky fun!

I dried the background completely with a heat tool. And then I added some white acrylic paint spatters. I removed the mask from the 'moon' and blended very lightly over the crater shadows stencil from the Moon {layering stencil} with my black blending brush. I didn't add any ink to the brush though and I kept it very light. In fact, I cleaned off my brush by wiping it off on a microfiber cloth to make sure it wasn't saturated with ink. I used the moon stencil to add just a tiny bit of yellow around the edges of the moon. Again, not adding any ink to my yellow brush. 

Once I was happy with the moon, I stamped the beautiful trees and the sentiment from the Search for those Moments stamps. This is another lovely Layers of Life stamp. I love it! I stamped both of these with VersaFine Onyx Black Ink. Love how this turned out!

Now before we get to the hopping, I chose a lucky winner from the comments on last month's hop to win a fun prize and the lucky winner is...

... Laurie Black!! Congratulations, Laurie!!

Please email me at crystalominkler@gmail.com to claim your prize. 

Please claim the prize before January 1st, 2025. 

Well, that's it for me this time! Please hop along and enjoy some more inspiration from the Friends of Unity! I can't wait to see how our friends were inspired by this month's cue. I will be doing another fun giveaway this month!! Be sure to hop along and comment for a chance to win. {When you comment please leave your name just in case it posts as anonymous.} I'll announce the winner next month! 

Let's get to the hopping...

Crystal <--- you're here

up next ---> Amber

Kari

Toni

Jenni

Rachel

Joyce

Dawn

Thanks so very much for supporting our little hop!

We appreciate you so much!!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 29 ~ Advent Calendar Day 16 ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend!

It's Day 16 of the Unity 2022 Advent Calendar! I've teamed up with Echo and Sandhya to do a little reveal and project on our YouTube channels using the fantastic Advent Calendar from Unity Stamp Co!! Please be sure to subscribe to our channels so you don't miss a day of this fun series!

Day 16 ~ a cute stack of books!!

I paired it up with the Cozy Textiles {paper pack}, also from Unity. And colored it up with the following Copic markers: 

Skin ~ E000, E00, E11

Hair ~ E43, E44, E49

Jacket ~ RV0000, RV10, RV21, RV91, RV93, RV95

Jeans ~ B91, B95

Book ~ C00, C2

Bean Bag ~ B91, B95, B97, B99

Stack of Books ~ Y000, Y11, RV0000, RV10, RV91, RV93, B91, B95, B97

Here's a look at {BYSHC} Sketch 29 that inspired my card.

I also used the Scallops & Circles {nesting dies}, also from Unity. And the little snowflake is from the Winter Sidekick Side-Order Thinlit/Texture Fades from Sizzix and Tim Holtz. 

The pretty girl and sentiment are from the Friends Family Graciousness October 2020 Whit Kit.

Check out my process video here... Unity Advent Calendar Day 16.

I'll be back on Monday with Day 19 of the Advent Calendar reveal and a pretty card! *So sorry for the delay... I'll be posting Day 19 through Day 21 on Wednesday.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Falling for the Holidays 2022 {BYSHC} Linky Party ~ October Sketch Challenge ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back for day 7 of the Falling for the Holidays 2022 {BYSHC} Linky Party and I'm also sharing inspiration for the October Sketch Challenge over at the Unity Show & Tell Facebook group! I am hosting the challenges over there for the next couple of months. I'd love for you to join us over there and play along.

So my first card today features the adorable Oh Hey There, Winter. A super cute snowman stamp! I just love him! I paired him up with the beautiful Brilliant Blizzard {paper pack}. The blues in these papers are so lovely and there's a wonderful mix of snowflakes.

I mat the papers with white card stock to help the snowflakes pop on the card. The contrast of the bold black sentiment circle also helps the sentiment pop on the card.

Here's a quick list of the Copic markers I used to color up this cute snowman:

Snowman ~ BG70, C00, C2, YR21, YR15, R000, R20

Hat ~ BG70, BG72, BG75, BG90, C00, C2

Scarf / Mittens / Boots ~ BG70, BG72, BG75, BG90

Heart ~ R000, R20, R14

I'm entering my winter card into the Falling for the Holidays 2022 {BYSHC} Linky Party. 

I hope that you'll stop by the Falling for the Holidays 2022 {BYSHC} Linky Party to check out all the wonderful Holiday inspiration being shared!! 

Now my second card is purely for the Unity October Sketch Challenge and all about Fall!! This one features the gorgeous Bountiful Fall Itty Bitty stamp. I paired up this beautiful pumpkin stamp with the Fall Y'all {paper pack}. I love the polka dots in the papers and around the pumpkin! It just brings the design of the card all together.

I die cut the pumpkin using one of the brand new stitched square dies from the Scallops & Squares {nesting dies}. How pretty are all these patterns together?! So fun!

Here's a quick list of the Copic markers I used to color up this gorgeous pumpkin:

Pumpkin ~ YR21, YR15, YR68, E55, E57

Yellow Flowers ~ Y15, Y35

Orange Flowers ~ YR21, YR15

Blue Flowers ~ BG70, BG72

Red Flowers ~ R35, R56

Leaves ~ YG03, YG63, YG67

Ground ~ E55, E57

You can check out my video for these cards here... Bountiful Fall & Oh Hey There, Winter | October Sketch Challenge | Unity Stamp Co.

Here's a look at the Unity October Sketch Challenge! Please know that the sketch is meant to inspire and not require. Feel free to alter it to work for your creation and most importantly have some inky fun! I can't wait to see what you create! Be sure to share your cards in the Unity Show & Tell group and also add them to the sketch challenge album in the group to be entered for a prize!! I'll see you back here next Thursday with a brand new challenge for the month of November!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Cozy Vibes Coffee with Buffalo Check Background ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

Today I'm sharing a sweet mini slimline card featuring two wonderful new releases from Unity Stamp Co... the fabulous Buffalo Check {slimline} background stamp and the beautiful Cozy Vibes Coffee stamp!! This coffee loving gal is seriously loving this new caffeinated and cozy stamp set!

The Buffalo Check {slimline} background stamp was stamped with black in on red card stock and then I die cut it with the Wonky Stitched Mini Slimline die from Gina Marie Designs.

I mat it with a 6-1/4 x 3-1/4" piece of black card stock and then adhered it to a red mini slimline card front measuring 6-1/2 x 3-1/2". The card front was then adhered to a white mini slimline card base measuring 6-1/2 x 7"; scored at 3-1/2".

I used the following Copic markers for the Cozy Vibes Coffee stamp:

Mug ~ R14, R20, R27, R37

Coffee Swirls ~ E21, E23, E25, E27, E29

Snowflake Cream ~ Sakura white gel pen

I stamped the sentiment and added just a touch of R14 to the heart. Trimmed it up and mat it on black card stock strip that measures 61/4 x 3-1/4". I fussy cut the cup and used foam tape to pop it up on the card. To finish off the card, I added a couple black enamel dots from my stash.

If you haven't already, you should definitely go check out the new Unity releases and sale! Lots of wonderful new red rubber and fun sequins and shaker mixes!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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~ Friends of Unity January 2022 Blog Hop ~

 Hello there crafty friend!

It's one of my favorite times of the month... time for the Friends of Unity Blog Hop!! We changed things up and moved our hop to the second Saturday since last Saturday was New Year's Day. I definitely needed the extra time to get inky for this month's hop! December and the holidays were SO busy but they were also wonderful. No complaining here. Well, enough of my babbling! Let's have a peek at our cue this month...

...CAS Cards! If you're not familiar with CAS, it means Clean & Simple.

One of my favorite kinds of cards to make are CAS cards. I was so excited to get inky for this hop and I'm even more excited to hop along and see the inspiration being shared by all our friends!

My first card features a beautiful CAS pattern paper and sentiment from the December 2021 Whit Kit called Trust in its Wings. The papers and stamp kit are now available separately and are also called Trust in its Wings. 

I cut the pattern paper to a card front measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2". I stamped the sentiment directly on the pattern paper with Gina K. Black Amalgam ink. 

I die cut the pattern paper with the largest stitched scallop dies from the new Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies} and adhered it to a white A2 top fold card base. Super quick and CAS!!

My second card also features papers and a stamp from the Trust in its Wings {paper pack} and stamp kit. My first card was so fast I couldn't help but make another with the same kit.

The background on this paper is perfect for a CAS card. The image is colored up very simply with the following Copic Markers:

Branch ~ YG03, YG63, YG97, E25

Berries ~ R02, R56, R59

Bird ~ C00, C1, C3, C5, YR24, E37

I used the coordinating die to die cut the image. The sentiment is stamped on True Black card stock with Wow Clear embossing ink and then I heat embossed some Alabaster White embossing powder from Brutus Monroe. I trimmed the sentiment and then I adhered the birds tail and the end of the branch onto the front of the sentiment strip and the tips of the leaves to the back of the sentiment strip. I like how this grounds the bird but also gives it a bit of dimension.

My last card is a new release called Lollipop Love... I love this cute lollipop! *wink*wink* I kept this one CAS by adding just a bit of ink blending over the Heart Confetti stencil with Villainous Potion Distress Oxide ink. I just used a piece of purple tape on top of the stencil over the heart lollipop to mask it. I was too lazy to do a regular mask and the tape covered most of the image well enough.

I colored the heart lollipop with the following Copic Markers:

Heart ~ RV10, RV14, RV21, RV29

Ribbon ~ BV0000, V20, V22, V25

Stick ~ C00, C2

Similar to my first card, I finished this one off by die cutting the panel with the new Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies} and adhered it to a white A2 top fold card base. Three CAS cards done!

I sure hope you're inspired to use those CAS pattern papers or maybe a stencil from your stash along with your Unity stamps to make some fun CAS cards! 

In celebration of our 4th Anniversary last month, I chose a lucky winner to win a fun prize package and that lucky winner is...

...Carla Hundley!! Congratulations, Carla!

Please email me at crystalominkler@gmail.com to claim your prize. 

Prize must be claimed within two weeks. 

Well, that's it for me this time! Please hop along and enjoy some more inspiration from the Friends of Unity... I can't wait to see how our friends were inspired by the cue! I'm doing another fun giveaway this month!! Be sure to hop along and comment for a chance to win! I'll announce the winner next month! 

Let's get to the hopping...

Crystal <--- you're here

up next ---> Eileen

Dawn B.

Dawn F.

April

Rachel

Bobbie Sue

Kim

Alaine

Amber

Joyce

Robyn

Thanks so very much for supporting our little hop!

We appreciate you!!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Thinking of You ~ December 2021 Whit Kit ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I am excited for another fabulous year of Whit Kits from Unity Stamp Co. and I hope to be more consistent in sharing my cards using the kits. However, today I'm sharing a couple cards I created using the beautiful December 2021 Whit Kit called Trust in its Wings. December was such a busy month, I didn't get to play with this kit until now.

I couldn't help but color with my Copic Markers on Kraft card stock again... it's one of my most favorite techniques and it's so pretty for winter cards!

Here's a quick list of the Copic Markers I used to color the image:

Leaves ~ G14, G46

Berries ~ R14, R20, R27, R37

Bird ~ E01, E11, E17, E07, YR24, YR27

I used the coordinating die to die cut the bird. The top layer of Kraft is die cut with the Double Roped Square die from Gina Marie Designs.

My bonus card using the kit!! This kit has another great pack of papers and the wood wreath and berries paper was perfect for a very quick and pretty birthday card using a sentiment from a sentiment kit.

I colored the image the very same way and with the very same Copic Markers on white card stock. It's neat how it's so different from the Copic coloring on Kraft. 

You can check out my process video for my first card here... Thinking of You Card | December 2021 Whit Kit.

Even though the kit isn't available anymore, the stamps and papers are available separately at Unity Stamp Co. Be sure to check out the Whit Kit membership at Unity... the new January 2022 kit is perfect for New Year's cards! I can't wait to ink it up and share a bit of inspiration with you!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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